Golden Dreams
by Lady Juno
Summary: After the defeat of Galaxia, Mamoru leaves for college in America where he encounters some faces from the past.
1. The First Meeting

Hello everybody!  Lady Juno here.  This is my very first fanfic, so please be kind.  

Disclaimer:  I do not own Sailormoon, the wonderful Naoko Takeuchi does.  

            An echo sounded throughout the darkness.  The ragged breathing coming from the young blonde seemed quite out of place in the silence.  Fear slowly crawled up her spine, making every nerve tingle with the instinct to run away, but she knew she could not.  She was the only hope left for the world.  She would not let the hopes and dreams of all the people on the planet die with her.

            Loud cackling could suddenly be heard from all sides of the plateau the fragile girl stood upon.  The darkness began to gather, with the girl as its one and only target.  Knowing full well that this could be the end, the girl suddenly felt something stir inside of her.  She could feel her comrades' presence around her.  All was not lost.  Brandishing the shining crystal before her, she instinctively used it to counter the witch's attack.  The atmosphere intensely brightened for mere seconds before it abruptly ended.  A great sacrifice had been made, but the Earth was safe once more.

            In her last seconds, the dying girl embraced the crystal, making one final wish.  "Please, let us all live again."  Closing her eyes, the crystal steadily began pulsing with life.  As the brilliant light died down, ten spheres of various hues could be seen, racing off into the distant world beyond the frigid wasteland.

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            BEEP……..BEEP……BEEP…….BEEP…….SLAM!!!!!!!!!!  With his hand retracting from its fisted position on top of the noisy device, a young man in his early twenties arose bleary-eyed from his comfortable bed.  _Another night like this and I will never be able to stay awake through Professor Mason's class_, he thought groggily to himself.  _Why can't I seem to shake these dreams?_

            Resigning himself to the long day ahead, he got up to begin his daily routine.  Dragging a comb through his wavy, russet hair, his obstinate mind would not let go of the dream's vague details.  He could not shake the feeling of familiarity with the scenes played out before him nightly in his dreams.  Shaking his medium-length locks, his head once again cleared, Nicholas Lumin purposefully set out to make the best of his day at the university.

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            Watching the students milling about on the rather large campus of Harvard made Mamoru Chiba feel almost normal.  That is to say, as normal as one can feel when they happen to be the Prince of Earth.  His decision to return to his studies in America had been a difficult one to make, especially having to leave his Usako mere months after his return to her, but he knew that it would be well worth it in the end.  He couldn't quite explain it, but he had felt almost compelled to come here to finish his studies.

            Of course, certain responsibilities came with being a Harvard student.  The first one being to get to his first class on time.  As he glanced down at his watch, he noticed how late he was going to be if he didn't hurry.  Using a pace that would make Usagi proud, Mamoru dashed off to begin his first day as an American college student.

            Upon arriving at his History of Law throughout the 20th Century class, Mamoru promptly sat down in one of the last seats available.  Due to its prime position for Dr. Mason's questioning throughout the hour and a half class period, he was easily able to figure out why it had been left empty.  

            After his brief encounter with the Inquisition, Mamoru decided to head back over to his apartment just off campus.  Just as he was exiting the classroom, another student's shoulder brushed past him, sending a shock through his system.  His glance darted towards the source.  Seeing nothing but the retreating figure of a brown-haired young man, he strode purposefully onward, trying to shake the feeling of déjà vu.  

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            Watching the scene play out before him, the silver-haired youth smiled slightly.  His whispering voice could be heard echoing throughout the corridor,  "Everything is finally coming together.  Soon, my prince, you will come into your inheritance."

Like it?  Hate it?  Please R/R! ^-^__


	2. Endymion's Betrothed?

Konnichi wa minna!  I want to thank Lavender Ana for her wonderful review.  I hope there are some others out there reading this!  

Disclaimer:  I am not the proud owner of Sailor Moon.

And now on with the story…

            As he made his way towards his small apartment near campus, Mamoru could not help feeling a little on edge.  Starting with almost being late for his first class, his day had just not gone well.  Although his next few classes did go better than the torture that was Professor Mason's class, he could not seem to focus on anything, either Japan and his Usako or the strange encounter with the wavy-haired student from earlier running through his head.

            Why he could not get the other young man out of his thoughts was completely beyond him.  Somehow he recognized the brown-haired man.  With his track record, Mamoru always took extra care to pay attention to the people he felt he recognized from somewhere.  He just couldn't figure out where he recognized his fellow classmate from.

            Completely lost in his thoughts, Mamoru did not even see the strangely-clad woman standing in front of him until it was almost too late.  With a jump that exceeded any normal human's range, she lunged towards him, sword unsheathed, her momentum only slowing when her target was able to clumsily dodge her attack.

            Slash after slash, Mamoru was beginning to doubt he could ever escape enough to transform.  It took all of his concentration just to stay alive.  Never before had he been so happy for all of his years of training for battle as Tuxedo Kamen.

If he hadn't been so preoccupied, he might have noticed her unnaturally shaded lilac hair piled meticulously on top of her head.  He may even have noted the strange sort of silvery-blue metallic armor she wore which seemed to bend and flex much easier than any metal should be able to.  Before his mind was even able to halfway register either of these observations, Mamoru found himself cornered with the beautifully dangerous woman's sword at his throat.

"I see you have gotten rusty over the years, letting me get the better of you.  No matter.  It makes my position easier.  Give the golden crystal to me and I may spare your life, Prince Endymion," the woman authoritatively commanded.

Confusion clouded over him, wondering who this woman was and how she knew his alternate identity.  What made her think the golden crystal was in his possession?

Deciding to play dumb, hoping it would buy him some time, Mamoru stammered out, "Who are you?  What makes you think I am this prince you speak of?"

Grinning menacingly, she pushed the sword against his throat.  "Don't play around with me.  You can't tell me you've forgotten your betrothed.  I most certainly have not forgotten you, or your betrayal of my kingdom with that moon princess."

"Betrothed?" he asked incredulously, not quite able to get past the concept.

"You really don't remember!?" the girl exclaimed.  "More's the pity.  I was so hoping that I could exact my revenge on you with your memories of our last encounter."  Sighing, she said, "I suppose I should introduce myself to you then before I kill you."

"I am Ceara (pronounced sierra), the next in line to the throne of Atlantis," she said while taking a theatrical bow and managing to hold her sword just against his throat.  "I am here to exact my kingdom's revenge upon the Golden Kingdom, starting with its heir."

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            Strolling through the trees with the sun shining down on him, Nick felt having to attend an afternoon class was sheer madness.  Whoever came up with the idea that students should have to attend classes on completely gorgeous days like this one was completely crazy.  Of course, he might never go to class if he acted on every excuse not to go.  He was a law student, but that did not make it any easier for him to sit in a room listening to his professor talk while the day was so beautiful.

            Thinking about it would not change anything, and so he turned his train of though elsewhere.  He had almost felt drawn to this small wooded area of campus ever since his first day at Harvard.  Stretched out beneath a large oak tree, it was easy for Nick to get lost in thought.  He could forget the whole world while he was in his own little piece of the woods.  

Of course, forgetting the world for a while did not make it disappear.  Knowing he only had but 20 minutes until his next torture session, he savored each breath of fresh air.  Glancing at his watch, he grimaced and slowly got up.  No sense being late for class if he was going to have to go anyway.

Suddenly, he collapsed to the ground, his hands on temples trying to alleviate the searing pain.  _Endymion's in trouble!  _The overwhelming sense of panic he felt was something he could not qualm.  

Nick suddenly shot up in a run towards the Campus Side apartments.  He did not know who this Endymion was, but he somehow knew the best direction in which to find him.  He just hoped that he wasn't too late.


End file.
